REVIVING HISTORY, Rebuilding Lives

1 ENVIRONMENT Dabar Sundar Nursery Development Humayun’s Tomb - Sundar Nursery - Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Sundar Nursery, earlier known as Azim Bagh (great garden) in Mughal times, was URBAN RENEWAL INITIATIVE Sandy established in the 20th century to propagate plants for the New Delhi. Under 10 percent of what is now Sundar Nursery was utilized as an active nursery at the Delhi, India onset of this Urban Renewal project. Kohi Khaddar The landscape master-plan now aims to create a major landscaped space of truly urban scale, deriving inspiration from the traditional Indian concept of congruency between nature, garden and utility, coupled with environmental conservation. In addition to the formal landscape in the setting of the Mughal era monuments, a micro-habitat zone is being created for flora that occupies Delhi’s ridge, river edge, plains and other specialised zones such as desert and marshy areas. To streamline nursery functions, almost 20 acres remain for exclusive nursery functions operated by the Central Public Works Department, with these nursery beds now accessible by the new peripheral road. Portions of land used for dumping construction rubble have now been converted into micro-habitat zones to showcase Delhi’s diverse ecology for educational and recreational purposes Edged by nine kohi mounds, the microhabitat zone aims to replicate Delhi’s original landscape so it can become a tool for increased environmental awareness amongst the 300,000 school-kids who visit the adjoining Humayun’s Tomb annually. Planted with saplings collected from rich natural habitat zones has ensured the careful assembly of the several difficult-to-source species which, in Delhi, have been replaced by commercially viable ones. The ridge replicated by the kohi is bounded by khaddar or riverine tracts as well as dabar or flooded marshy areas. Over 1800 trees now recorded on a Geographic Information System (GIS) include over 200 species. Biodiversity studies carried out at Sundar Nursery in 2012 documented 54 species of resident birds and 24 species of butterflies on the site. To secure bird habitat the landscape design includes spaces such as dense under-growth for ground nesting birds; shallow water ponds for birds that live off the water; sandy banks for birds that burrow to nest and hundreds of high canopy Since 2008, over 20,000 plants including over 200 tree species have been planted at Sundar Nursery. trees, fruit trees and flowering plants now planted here to increase available nesting Landscaped portions include designated bird habitat spaces for birds and improved city environment. areas and formal gardens (centre) abutting Mughal era monuments. Formally laid nursery beds (bottom) REVIVING HISTORY, REBUILDING LIVES with independent vehicular access have enhanced For more information please visit www.akdn.org or contact the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, nursery functions. P.O. 3253, Hazrat Nizamuddin East, New Delhi 110013 Email: [email protected] Follow on: www.nizamuddinrenewal.org or Facebook: www.facebook.com/NizamuddinRenewal Cover Caption: Civil Society Magazine, Volume 10, No.3, January 2013 ProJECT BRIEF March 2013 3 IntroduCTION only in its own intrinsic value, but because it constitutes an ensemble of 16th century garden-tombs, all of which are undergoing much needed conservation In 1997, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of India’s independence, His Highness work as part of this urban renewal initiative. the Aga Khan offered to restore the garden of Humayun’s Tomb, marking this as the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s first association with the World Heritage Site. At the onset of the project, it became clear that in order to restore the historic character and architectural integrity of the many monuments that dot the project Building on these successes, in 2007 an agreement with the Archaeological area, 20th century repairs, carried out using inappropriate modern materials such Survey of India, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Central Public Works as cement, would have to be removed and replaced with traditional building Department enabled the Aga Khan Development Network to return to the historic materials applied as per the original builders’ intention and using the traditional Nizamuddin area to undertake an Urban Renewal Initiative. The initiative has craft skills that made these buildings significant. since led to the conservation of over 30 monuments; work towards creating a 100-acre city park by sensitively landscaping the Sundar Nursery - Batashewala Conservation works have revived a craft- based approach. Stone carvers, masons, Complex; and significant improvements to the quality of life for the residents of plasterers, glazed tile makers, brick layers, art conservators and carpenters work Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti - a repository of seven centuries of living culture. alongside architects and engineers. Craftsmen are encouraged to match the work of their forefathers using traditional tools, building traditions and materials. Over The project aims to serve as a model for civil society engagement in urban 200,000 man-days of employment have been logged by master craftsmen. development. It also seeks to demonstrate that culture is a significant tool for development and makes the case for a return to a traditional craft-based approach The project aims to establish a model conservation process for the Indian context to the conservation of India’s monumental buildings. that, in addition to the emphasis on utilising building craft traditions, is based on exhaustive documentation using state-of-art technology such as 3D laser scanning, Project activities have expanded far beyond those envisaged in 2007. The expansion archival research spanning centuries of accumulated materials, peer review by has been made possible by co-funding from new partners, significant amongst independent national and international experts and high levels of supervision. which are the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Ford Foundation, World Monuments Fund, the United States Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation, the Embassy of Humayun’s Tomb: The mausoleum and attached structures, such as the the Federal Republic of Germany, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, the Delhi Urban Heritage gateways, pavilions and enclosure walls, have required major conservation Foundation, as well as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. works to restore the architectural integrity of the structures. A million kilos of cement concrete laid here in the 20th century - ostensibly to prevent water The project implementation is undertaken by a multidisciplinary team comprising ingress – was removed from the roof by craftsmen using hand tools. Similarly, of a wide range of expertise, including architects; civil, structural, hydraulic and over 200,000 square feet of lime plaster was applied in areas where this had either electrical engineers; historians; conservation and landscape architects; educators; been lost or replaced in recent times with cement plaster that was accelerating doctors and public health specialists; monitoring and evaluation experts; deterioration. horticulturists and ecologists; designers; project managers, administrators and finance specialists. The team is guided by specialised consultants and includes The stone paving of the lower plinth was restored after the removal of over 40,000 almost a hundred residents of Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti who have been trained square feet of concrete and the manual re-setting of stone blocks, which weighed to take up significant responsibilities. in excess of 2500 kilos each. The sandstone paving of the upper floor also needed to be restored to its historic pattern while ensuring an adequate slope to drain RE-THINKING CONSERVATION rainwater. In the early 14th century, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the revered Sufi saint, who Ornamental star-shaped ceiling patterns in lime plaster, which cover 1.6 percent preached Sufi teachings of love, pluralism and tolerance, was buried in the Hazrat of the façade have been painstakingly restored by specially trained craftsmen. The Nizamuddin Basti. Since it is considered auspicious to be buried near a saint’s tomb, restoration of the tile-work on the canopies on the roof required a four-year phase seven centuries of tomb building here has made this one of the densest ensemble of experimentation and training in which master craftsmen from Uzbekistan of medieval Islamic buildings. trained youth from the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti in the art of tile making - which Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti (top), Sundar Nursery (centre) and Isa had been lost in India. The tile making has since created economic opportunities Conservation works at Humayun’s Tomb, such as repairing the Khan’s Tomb (bottom) stand in close proximity to the Humayun’s Although some important structures have been lost in recent years, many remain, for the Basti’s youth. Though ornamental plasterwork and ceramic tiles cover a sandstone platform (top), replacing 20th century cement flooring Tomb World Heritage Site. Urban improvements, landscaping, including several garden-tombs contemporary to Humayun’s Tomb-garden. The miniscule area, the impact on their restoration is significant, allowing visitors to with original stone paving (centre) and restoring glazed tiles ecological restoration, socio-economic development are coupled to the canopies (bottom) are carried out by craftsmen using with conservation of over 30 monuments that dot the project area. outstanding universal value of the Humayun’s Tomb complex therefore lies not understand the

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